


Conundrum

by Arkanna



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-22 18:09:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12487744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arkanna/pseuds/Arkanna
Summary: A bit of strategic trickery leaves Chase confused.





	Conundrum

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of its characters.

Chase glanced up a second before Jack's Wu detector activated. He noted the slight grimace and unhappy expression that settled over the boy's features.

“It is an insignificant Shen Gong Wu but it presents the perfect opportunity,” Chase remarked, rising gracefully from the floor.

Jack gave a wistful sigh and glanced over the goban before standing to join Chase. He would rather suffer through an intense all day training session with the warlord than battle the monks.

“I'm not taking any bots,” he grumbled, “the new ones are all prototypes and I don't want them destroyed before they've even been tested.”

Chase arched a brow but remained silent. He had witnessed the last showdown in which Jack had been a participant and once the monks had scurried back to the temple, gloating about how easily they had once again defeated evil, he had teleported Jack and the still smoking pile of scrap back to the citadel though, as Jack had predicted, there was little left to salvage.

“Will they not think that strange?” he finally asked.

Jack shrugged, pulling on his coat and heli-bot, “I'm trying out a new strategy,” then rattled something in one of his pockets, “but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to field test other inventions.”

Chase's lips twitched into an evil smirk. He had witnessed the effectiveness of Jack's new invention and hoped at least one of the monks would be so foolish as to get close enough for Jack to use it.

“We will teleport half way, from there . . .”

“I know, I know, I'm on my own,” Jack interrupted, already falling into the annoying evil genius mode. He took the small Wu Chase offered. “What does this even do?”

The warlord looked at it with distaste, “I have no idea. Dashi made too many of these ridiculous little toys. I assume you have the Monkey Staff?”

“Wouldn't go anywhere without it,” Jack grinned, that maniacal half-crazed baring of teeth that had so irked Chase years ago. It was still just as annoying . . . and effective, he realized, feeling his face drawing up into the same irritated scowl he had worn for years whenever Jack appeared. Heylin magic swirled around them as Chase considered just how much Jack had changed in a few short months.

 

They reappeared on a densely forested hillside. The thick canopy easily blotted out the little sun that occasionally peeked from behind heavy dark grey clouds. A fallen tree provided an opening and Jack promptly extended the heli-bot's rotors intent on getting this over with as quickly as possible.

“I will not go easy on you . . .” Chase began but Jack just waved a bit dismissively with a slight snort, already nearly above the trees.

Chase narrowed his eyes, momentarily overcome with fury at the apparent disrespect, before he reminded himself that they had planned this weeks ago. Jack was just exhibiting some of his more annoying traits as the _Evil Boy Genius._ At least he wasn't fawning all over the warlord, he sighed, slowly fading into the shadows—at least not yet.

 

Jack was annoyed to say the least. For once, not only had he arrived before the monks, and everyone else for that matter, but he also spotted the Wu first. He knew exactly where it was and could have easily taken it but instead, he stood, hands in his pockets waiting, of all things, for the monks to arrive. He knew Chase was around somewhere, also waiting, ready to make a fashionably late appearance. He huffed in irritation and jiggled his pockets nervously, running his fingers over one of the small pods.

Jack had been anticipating and dreading this situation long enough that the wait was weighing heavily and fraying his nerves. He would never have known the monks had arrived if not for an explosive sneeze and tremendous bout of flame singeing the tops of a few nearby trees.

A startled yelp was drawn from him and he cringed away from the threat. It seemed old habits died hard but then he had been burnt perhaps one too many times.

“DOJO!” there was no mistaking Kimiko's annoyance.

The drawled “Easy there pardner,” could only belong to one monk, but his voice sounded a bit strained.

Dojo's sniffled, “Sorry,” seemed dejected and the usually talkative dragon remained oddly quiet.

“Let's just get this thing and get out of here,” Raimundo was definitely angry.

Jack waited for Omi's comment but the little monk was silent and he wondered if they had left him behind. The Dragon of Water was usually full of grandiose remarks, mangled idioms and seemingly limitless optimism—not to mention boundless energy and a swelled head.

Jack quietly backed into the shadows waiting to make his appearance. It took much longer than it should have and when the monks finally did arrive at his location, he nearly gave himself away with his soft snort of laughter.

Kimiko's hair was a bright neon pink fashion disaster. He was fairly certain it was her actual hair rather than some sort of wig and there was no doubt it would probably glow in the dark as well. The two ponytails seemed a lot more frizzy than they should have been and fluffed up in an odd sort of way hair of that length had no business attempting. On closer inspection, he realized that her roots were more of a sick shade of puce green and a sudden gust of wind sent the distinct stench of ammonia wafting in his direction. Jack snickered quietly as he realized it was most likely a strange accident that had left her with such a unique appearance.

“Hey kid,” Jack looked around and spotted Dojo actually hiding behind a nearby tree. “A word of advice, don't say anything,” and then he vanished into the shadows. To say that Jack was surprised would have been an understatement but upon re-examining the group of monks, it was probably very good advise.

All of them were frowning, but Clay seemed intent on keeping as much distance between himself and Kimiko as possible. Raimundo's face looked like thunder and if looks could kill, the Dragon of Fire would have been dead a hundred times over. Omi seemed a bit confused and the very fact that he was not bouncing around spoke volumes. In reality, he wore a very solemn expression indeed and Jack wondered exactly what had happened to render the usually over excited group so . . . subdued.

“Get out of my way dragon!”

Jack gaped at Kimiko's venomous remark and almost felt sorry for Dojo as he quickly scampered away to hide under Clay's hat.

“Kimiko, you should not . . .”

“Shut up Omi!” It seemed Kimiko was in a very bad mood and given the unhappy stare the Dragon of Water directed at his teammate, she was most likely the reason for the dark cloud that hung over them.

Against his better judgment Jack stepped from the shadows, Wu detector in hand, pretending to look for the . . . whatever it was that had activated. It took the monks several minutes to notice him. It wasn't like Jack was hiding or anything, they just seemed to be off in their own little worlds.

“Jack Spicer,” Omi intoned condescendingly, as if he didn't know his own name.

“Great!” Kimiko huffed furiously.

Raimundo's eyes flicked to the shadows, watching for lurking Jack-bots and hoping to spot the newest Shen Gong Wu before Jack.

Clay's face hardened and he grit his teeth. The jaw muscles visibly working to contain his growing irritation.

“Where's your bots Jack? All your little toys broken or are you giving up?” Raimundo sneered.

“No, losers . . .” before he could even finish his thought, Kimiko let out an angry shriek. It seemed being called a loser was the last straw.

“Star of Hanabi FIRE!!” she screamed. With a terrified yelp, Jack managed to dodge the attack, but only just.

“Now hold on Kimiko, that was un . . .”

She rounded on Clay, her eyes practically burning with anger. He held up his hands in surrender and backed away a few steps.

Jack felt Chase's presence a few moments before he seemed to step from the shadows. It was odd, but ever since the unfortunate incident with the deathlilies, he had become more attuned to the warlord. It wasn't something either of them completely understood but under exceedingly stressful circumstances Jack could sense his master's presence. Chase believed it was something akin to the monk's tiger instincts but why it only seemed to manifest in extremis and why this strange awareness did not extend to anyone or anything beyond Chase was a puzzle.

“Dissension within the ranks,” Chase sneered startling the preoccupied monks. He stood, arms folded, looking haughtily down at them, smirking evilly at their foolishness.

“Chase!” Jack gasped adoringly as the warlord seemed to melt from the deep shadows. He sidled up to his evil idol but remained mostly ignored.

“Chase Young,” Omi growled, the other monks quickly joining him in battle formation.

“Omi,” the warlord's eyes settled on the young monk. He noted his odd expression and Kimiko's rather peculiar fashion sense. It took very little for Chase to determine the most likely reason for the monks' foul mood and his smirk darkened, touched with a hint of amusement.

“Have you reconsidered my offer?” the warlord asked.

Omi frowned, “I will not join the side of darkness,” he replied most solemnly, glaring at the evil warlord.

Chase was about to respond when Jack excitedly leaned in closer, grabbing his arm, “Chase, I was wondering if you would . . .”

“Do not touch me,” he growled shoving the boy away roughly, “insignificant worm!” He scowled darkly at Jack before stalking away. In a sudden moment of clarity, Chase realized that his anger was not entirely a facade meant to fool the Xiaolin. He found himself furious that he had to treat his apprentice, _Jack,_ in this manner, ruse though it was. He had not called the boy a worm in many months and found that it rankled now that he had become accustomed to him and his peculiarities, understanding that much of Jack's bravado was merely a way to hide his insecurities and self-doubt. His dragon roiled dangerously beneath his skin, no more happy with the situation than the warlord. It's solution was simple, destroy the monks and be done, but that was a power vacuum and imbalance Chase was not prepared to deal with.

Jack was just as confused and unhappy as the warlord. He expected this, they had meticulously planned for just such an encounter in an effort to throw off Bean, Heylin and Xiaolin alike. Practically choreographing their respective roles down to the very smallest action and word and yet the old hurts of being cast aside and ridiculed by the warlord rose to the surface and tormented the boy. He KNEW Chase would do this, knew exactly how this was to play out and yet it still HURT. Facing off against Chase had sent him spiraling down into a dark abyss—an unforeseen consequence.

Crestfallen, he turned from the monks and glanced dejectedly towards the hidden Shen Gong Wu. He caught the odd expression Chase bore and the almost imperceptible nod. The warlord knew exactly where the magical trinket was concealed.

Jack gasped with great exaggeration and then pretended to move _stealthily_ towards the Shen Gong Wu. His actions obvious and meant to attract attention. Unfortunately, it was Kimiko that noticed him first.

“Oh no you don't!” she screeched angrily leaping towards the evil genius.

Distracted and caught in the memories of past showdowns, Jack only registered the sudden movement and her shouted FIRE! Pure luck and perhaps a touch of survival instinct drove Jack to drop to the ground, covering his head as several large fireballs flashed through the space he had occupied only a moment before.

Chase turned with a snarl, dodging the errant attack as it had missed its intended target. He glared at the Dragon of Fire even as the other monks hurried to join her. There was a single moment of perfect calm, each side sizing the other up, before the monks launched their attack. The Xiaolin were the aggressors and Kimiko seemed determined to do severe bodily harm to Jack.

He shrieked and jumped away from the angry monk. A few of her kicks and strikes landed but training with the warlord had taught Jack how to lessen the impact, he would still be covered with angry welts and bruises, but not suffer broken bones or worse. Whatever had angered the monk, she seemed intent on taking out her frustrations on the evil genius.

There was only so much abuse Jack could take before he finally fought back. It was more than a bit out of character for him to assume a fighting stance and if Kimiko had been a little less angry she might have recognized the style. As it was, she never got a chance to consider Jack's sudden odd behaviour. Her mistake was underestimating the boy and when she drew in close for a hard strike, Jack twisted aside and smacked her in the back with one of his pods.

She stumbled and fell with a high pitched wail, electricity coursing through her body. The small pod held tight even as she thrashed and twitched, it's tiny prongs lightly embedded in her skin, just out of reach. Not a lethal shock by any means, but as he had once suspected, her hair did indeed frizz into two fluffy pompoms. Jack took advantage of the situation and sprinted for the Shen Gong Wu leaving Kimiko to twitch and smoke lightly as the battery in the pod fully discharged.

Chase smirked, easily batting Omi aside and dodging Clay's attack. It was poetic justice that Kimiko had been the one to test Jack's invention. She had attacked first and doggedly pursued him intent on inflicting as much damage as possible. The warlord bounded after Jack avoiding Raimundo's wildly aimed tornado.

He clamped his hand around the small bottle shaped Shen Gong Wu at the same instant as Jack but his challenge went unvoiced as another hand, bony and clawlike, grasped the Wu as well. Startled, Jack glanced up into Wuya's green-eyed glare. Her sudden appearance was enough distraction to allow Raimundo time to place a hand on the Shen Gong Wu as well.

“I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. I wager the Shroud . . .”

Chase grit his teeth. It was the worse case scenario. Not only had he, Spicer and Raimundo grabbed the Shen Gong Wu at the same time, Wuya was also able to get her claws on it AND Raimundo had called the challenge before him or Jack.

“. . . the game is King of the Mountain. No holds barred, whoever can get to the top, grab the Wu and stay there for a minute wins.”

Suddenly, the world began warping around them. The gently sloping hillside lurched into the sky, trees and grass replaced with sharp cliffs and monstrous boulders. The mountaintop was blanketed in snow and ice and the very peak concealed behind dense clouds. All in all, a very barren and bleak battlefield.

Almost automatically, “Gong Yi Tanpai!” was ripped from Jack's lips. If he had had a moment to give it some thought, he might have backed out, but he was determined to see the challenge through. He would not balk in front of Chase, though the warlord wore a much more sour expression than normal and glared at him with an anger Jack had not experienced in quite some time.

For a second time that day, a Xiaolin monk seemed hellbent on making Jack suffer. Raimundo relentlessly chased after the evil genius, ignoring both Chase and Wuya with single-minded determination. While the two Heylin bounded up the side of the mountain, exchanging blows and any number of underhanded tricks, the Dragon of Wind hounded Jack.

The Monkey Staff helped him scramble over large boulders and maintain his balance when normally he would have fallen painfully. It gave him a greater agility and speed that he did not normally possess but it was all to no avail.

While it was true that Kimiko's little _accident_ had made the other monk's lives miserable, she was one of them. A monk, a warrior, a teammate and friend and Jack had attacked her. Raimundo did not stop to consider that Kimiko had attacked Jack first nor that she had continued to attack him instead of helping them fight the evil warlord. He also did not stop to notice the angry bruises decorating Jack's face nor the burns across his knuckles. He did not see the way Jack limped when he was not leaping from stone to stone nor stop to think exactly how severely Kimiko had been beating the weaker boy. And while Jack had only left her stunned, she had been intent on pounding him to a bloody pulp. Raimundo could not know that it was only Jack's intense training with Chase that saved him from even greater pain and injury. He only saw an enemy and in his mind evil must be defeated by any means.

“You're going down Spicer!” the Dragon of Wind shouted, launching more attacks at Jack even as the boy turned and ran as best he could. A small frightened whimper escaped his lips.

Chase had just sent Wuya tumbling halfway down the mountainside when he heard the cry. His head snapped around in time to see Raimundo launch several highly compressed fist-shaped columns of air at Jack.

His apprentice was in full retreat, frantically leaping and dodging amongst the rocks. Jack was midair when the first struck him in the back, a direct hit to his heli-bot, and sent him tumbling. He somehow managed to right himself and grab onto the rocks. He had yet to turn and face the Dragon of Wind when the second attack struck his back just below the heli-bot.

Chase watched Jack take the hit. Watched as he fell from his perch, careening down the side of the constructed mountain, slamming into several massive boulders and rolling in the scree before he plummeted off the edge into the darkness below. He knew Raimundo had hit Jack with more than excessive force. He knew by the sneer on the monk's face that he had specifically targeted his weakest opponent, no doubt as payback for defeating Kimiko, and it was all Chase could do not to transform at that moment and rip the boy to shreds. There was no way he could help Jack, but he could take his frustration out on the monk.

Raimundo was not expecting such a fierce attack and Chase landed several sharp punches before he fought back. The cheers from his fellow monks spurred him on, giving him the courage and drive to battle the evil warlord. Those same cheers fueled Chase's anger and his control over the dragon writhing in fury just beneath his skin began to slip with each strike and kick.

The mountain suddenly shook and began to flow back into a wooded hillside just as Raimundo attempted to take flight. Chase knocked him down, but instead of crashing into the rough gravelly mountainside, the monk merely skidded through the soft grass.

Wuya laughed evilly, her arms filled with the wagered Shen Gong Wu. Distracted by his fury at the Dragon of Wind, the warlord had forgotten about the Wu, the Showdown, the very reason they were there in the first place, allowing the witch to claim the prize. Chase's glance flicked over her without care, but he sent his nastiest glare at Raimundo. The monk was standing, barely injured, patting dust from his robes. Jack was nowhere in sight. Even the magic crackling around Chase as he teleported back to the citadel seemed enraged.

Luckily the training room was empty when he reappeared for no sooner had he fully manifested then his dragon broke forth in an absolute and uncontrollable fury the likes of which Chase had not experienced in centuries. He tore through practice dummies, reducing them to toothpicks. Even those magically enhanced were clawed and shredded and chewed until little remained. His talons gouged the stone floors and walls. Poles meant to teach balance were reduced to kindling with a single snap of his jaws and even some of the iron columns supporting upper levels were dented by the dragon's rage.

Time passed, how much, Chase had no idea, but a small sound caught his attention. Something was approaching and without thought he prepared to attack whatever was insolent enough to invade his fortress. Angry enough to obliterate anything that walked through the door—anything except . . .

“Chase?” Jack called tentatively.

His rage instantly vanished and the warlord was able to reclaim himself just as Jack walked into the room.

“I'm sorry it took so long but the heli . . . bot . . . .” Jack looked around and stared in open mouthed shock at the destruction. Chase quickly ushered him out of the room, eyeing him critically as he led him out into a garden area.

Jack remained silent. Whatever had angered the warlord, no doubt something after Raimundo had violently knocked him out of the showdown, was not something he was going to question his master over. Self-preservation a far greater motivator than any amount of curiosity.

Chase had taken note of every hit Jack had sustained. He had observed the bruises and the burn welts across his knuckles. He had seethed in fury at the sweep that the boy had been unable to dodge and had left him limping in obvious pain. He knew that Jack had taken additional damage from Raimundo while he had been preoccupied with Wuya and yet Jack seemed mostly unaffected.

“Wuya won the Showdown,” he said after a few more moments of careful observation. “As promised, I will heal whatever injuries you have received.”

The warlord walked slowly around Jack, his hands behind his back. The boy shivered under his intense scrutiny before mustering enough courage to speak. The experience had dredged up old hurts and bad memories and he was finding it exceedingly difficult to put them aside—reminding himself that it had all been an act.

“It's just a few bruises, nothing serious. The heli-bot took more damage . . .”

“Spicer, I saw how fiercely you were attacked. The strike that knocked you from the mountain was greater than the one that damaged your machine,” Chase growled believing Jack was somehow trying to impress him by not admitting his injuries.

“No, really, I'm OK,” he tried to reassure the warlord, cowering slightly in his fierce glare.

Truthfully, Jack was a little confused. He knew quite well how hard he had been hit, especially by Raimundo, and he was only bruised. Jack had expected to be a bloody mess after skidding down the mountainside, not to mention impacting all those rocks, and yet his worst injury was a scrape on his hand. He had considered, perhaps, he hadn't been hit as hard as he thought, at least until the heli-bot had started smoking and Jack had had to climb the rest of the way up to the Citadel.

Raimundo's last attack had left a very large, very deep dent in the body of his machine. It had crushed the cooling system and caused the heli-bot to overheat. Eventually, it had vented hot air and smoke against the back of Jack's coat before the rotors seized up and dropped him from the sky. The rough landing alone should have left him cut and bloody not to mention burned from the hot exhaust that had scorched the back of his jacket. Yet a quick check had revealed only a bit of bright pink skin that was hot to the touch but not painful, certainly no bruising or burns. He was definitely baffled but not about to question his good fortune.

Chase continued to glare, not believing for one instant that Jack was not suffering far worse than bruising.

“Remove your shirt,” the warlord finally growled, patience, such that he had, at an end.

“What?” Jack had been caught off guard, distracted by his own thoughts.

“NOW!” there was no mistaking the dragon's voice echoing in Chase's command.

His shirt was gone in an instant and the warlord glared at Jack. He had not been lying. There were only a few small bruises, mostly on his arms. The single one Chase had noticed below his right eye was faint, much lighter than it had been during the showdown. The skin on his back was a pale pink and still warm with only a dark bruise from Raimundo's final attack.

“Would you like the bruising healed?”

“Nah, it's fine. I've had worse from sparring,” Jack shrugged, pulling his shirt on quickly. “Um, can I go? I need to fix my heli-bot.”

“Yes,” Chase answered slowly, thinking, “you may take the rest of the day to do as you please.”

“Great! Thanks!” Jack vanished before the warlord changed his mind.

Chase was at a loss and stared after the boy's quickly retreating figure. Just as his body had once rejected the warlord's attempts at healing, just as he had mysteriously reacted to the deathlilies, he now seemed to be manifesting yet another peculiar quirk.

Jack HAD been limping and bruised. There HAD been welts and burns from Kimiko's fire on his hands and yet the few injuries that remained looked DAYS old rather than a few hours and were clearly not painful.

Not for the first time, Chase swore there was something strange about Jack Spicer. A unique individual in a rather . . . unsettling sort of way. He folded his arms and bowed his head deep in thought.

Never had the warlord encountered one so interesting—at least not in recent centuries. He remembered one other, but would rather not think on those circumstances. Jack seemed to attract the strangest attentions and those of a certain level of intelligence and awareness being actively protective of him. His own dragon case in point. But this . . . this again was something entirely different.

Perhaps, Chase mused, a little investigative research was in order, however, the thought was unappealing. Such tedious pursuits were not something the warlord enjoyed. Magic might reveal the boy's secrets, but another more interesting thought occurred.

Perhaps it was time to introduce his apprentice to a different sort of training. With Bean's recent attentions and the Xiaolin's decidedly violent bent towards Jack, he could definitely benefit from defensive magic. He was certainly quite proficient with Shen Gong Wu and Chase wondered exactly how adept Jack might prove. He gave a few moments thought on how this new line of instruction should begin before vanishing to his library, smirking wickedly in anticipation, the question of Jack's peculiarities, once again, left for another day.

 


End file.
